6 Reasons to love the intense winter in Val-d’Or, its cold weather and its abundance of snow

Expedia has recently published an article on the Canada’s worst winter cities and Val-d’Or is one of them. The ranking was done according to four criteria; the snow, the cold weather, the means put in place to get warm and the national records. Well, Val-d’Or scores high in all these criteria! But don’t forget that it’s not because winter is intense that you shouldn’t visit Val-d’Or at this time of the year. In fact, I strongly suggest to visit it. Here are 6 reasons to love the intense winter in Val-d’Or, the cold and the abundance of snow.

A dry weather

In Val-d’Or, there is dry weather most of the time. But know that it is easy to protect oneself from it by dressing warmly. Well dressed, you can enjoy the fresh air and the outdoors for a long time

Magical landscapes

Winter in Val-d’Or is completely gorgeous. With all the space we have, no need to remove all the snow and put it in the pits for this purpose. We only have to move it to the side of the streets. Even in the city, you can find large spaces all white and admire the shine snow. The contrast of dark green spruce with the whiteness of the snow is quite handsome. And there, I don’t even talk about the skies at dawn and sunset that looks like cotton candy or a drink of Tequila Sunrise!

A lot of outdoor activities

Of course, we can practice a host of winter sports in Val-d’Or: snowshoeing, ice skates, cross-country skiing, fat bike and many others. Moreover, you will find the Forêt Récréative (recreational forest): 50 km2 of playground for outdoor enthusiasts. There are trails for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and fat biking and a 2 km loop of an ice-skating trail. All the equipment necessary for these sports is rented except for Fat Bikes (they can be rented at Cyclo Vélo Pro). To complete, an outdoor fireplace is maintained to warm the users of the trails.

Recreational forest trails are illuminated in the evening until 9pm and 11pm.

The outdoor fireplace is located at the central entrance of the different trails.

High quality snowmobile trails

The Abitibi-Témiscamingue region is known for the quality of its snowmobile trails, and Val-d’Or contributes to maintain the reputation. Snowmobile enthusiasts will enjoy 3,700 km of wide and safe trails throughout the region. Val-d’Or for its part, has these urban trails allowing snowmobilers to access services such as restaurants, hotels, gas stations and snowmobile dealers. Then, the cold weather and the snow that people generally dread allows us to start our snowmobile season earlier and finish it later!

Nothing better than a beer or a coffee after a day of snowmobiling. But to have beautiful snowmobile trails, it takes snow and cold!

With all those signs who are indicating nearby services and directions, you can’t get lost in the snowmobile trails in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Val-d’Or.

Restaurants and cafes to warm up

Val-d’Or has a host of restaurants and small cafes that will warm you up suitably after a day out in the open air. You’ll have a lot of choice between coffee shops and delicious teas. There are restaurants with a warm atmosphere like the microbrewery Le Prospecteuror the poutine bar Bar à poutine chez Morasse, or others who propose comfort food like as Windsoror Chez Vic.

Windsor proposes the most comforting cuisine in a warm and comfortable atmosphere.

Activities to celebrate winter

The winter in Val-d’Or is not perceived as miserable, but rather as a beautiful season to play outside and have fun! Besides, it doesn’t stop people from organizing events or festivals. For example, at the beginning of February, winter is celebrated with the Hiver en fête Festival. It offers musical shows, open-air cinema, fireworks and a host of activities for the whole family, ice fishing, dog sledding, pony riding, horse drawn carriage rides, maple on snow, inflatable games, Zipline, snow sculpture, giant sliding, rock climbing and more! There are also Polar Night [s] two days long and offers musical performances in a giant igloo. Exploded activities and fires to roast sausages and marshmallow are planned.

The Hiver en fête festival is taking place at the great site of the Cité de l’Or.

During the event Nuit Polaire (Polar Night) in 2017, Valaire’s band came to warm the crowd. Photo | Geneviève Lagrois

Winter in Val-d’Or can be cold and the snow can be abundant, but when we know how to dress and that we found an activity which we like, then this cold and this snow become expected and appreciated. Then we see the landscapes under another eye noticing their beauty and their magical side. Come visit us and try it!